A team of developers led by Longfellow Real Estate Partners from Boston, Duke University and Durham businessman Hank Scherich will unveil formal plans Wednesday for the “Durham Innovation District.”

Backers are labeling the multi-building project as “Durham.ID”

The project is expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars and cover 1.7 million square feet of office space. The American Tobacco Historic District, which is nearby, includes some 1 million square feet of office space.

The partners describe the project as a “downtown research hub” with an emphasis on life science companies.

The project also is scheduled to include apartments and retail locations.

Officials plan to unveil specifics of the plan at a ceremony on Wednesday morning at one structure which recently was renovated: The Carmichael Building at 300 North Duke Street.

The area pegged for redevelopment is bounded by North Duke Street, West Village, downtown and the Farmers Market areas.

The event is set to begin at 10 a.m.

Longfellow, which already manages some properties in the Triangle, is widely known for its Cambridge Square project in Boston.

The firm worked with Duke to renovate another building at 710 West Main Street. Once a research building for Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company, it is now known as the Research Lab.

Longfellow also owns two other buildings in the Imperial Center Office Park.

Jessica Brock, managing director of Longfellow and a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, is among the speakers scheduled for the event.

Scherich is an active investor in downtown Durham real estate. He is the founder and president of Measurement, Inc., which focuses on assessment tools and services. The company has some 400 employees.

The American Tobacco district, which celebrated its 10th anniversary earlier this month, is owned and operated by Capitol Broadcasting, the parent firm of WRAL TV, WRAL.com and WRAL TechWire.

Capitol has said it invested $200 million in the American Tobacco project.